chapter two, better at lying than karate

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It was true, the next day when Isobel Vera and Miguel Diaz walked through the door together, it got everyone talking. Whispers that consisted of 'they're actually dating', and 'but they're from different dojos', and so many other things between her first and fourth period.

     Izzy stood at her locker, taking the books out that she needed before she felt a presence approach her. She looked to her left, seeing Ethan Thomas standing there.

     "Can I help you?" Izzy asked, turning her head back towards her locker.

     "Since when were you and Miguel Diaz a thing?" Ethan sounded like he thought of the relationship as a joke.

     Izzy shrugged. "Since.. I don't know, why do you even care?" She questioned the boy, furrowing her eyebrows.

    "I'm just confused why you're dating him. Do you guys even have.. anything in common?" Ethan laughed, tilting his head at Izzy.

     She slammed the locker shut, turning to face Ethan. "We're both the best at what we do: karate," Izzy smiled, "Except I'm still better than him." Izzy muttered, mostly to herself, then going to walk past Ethan.

     Ethan followed her, walking next to the girl. "So, you two are actually dating? I'm just wondering because like, the only interactions you two have had were fights about karate." He asked her.

A huff came from Izzy, "Yes, Ethan. We're actually dating. Can you go now?" She snapped at him as they turned the corner.

     That was when Izzy's eyes landed on Miguel, he was leaning against his locker, with Sam facing him. Miguel quickly noticed the girl not too far away from where he was standing. He pushed himself off of the locker, saying a 'goodbye' to Sam before walking over to where Izzy stood with Ethan.

Sam didn't approve of Miguel being with Izzy. Although Sam's bad blood was with Tory, some of it spilled over to Izzy all because Izzy was in Cobra Kai. Izzy didn't know why Sam didn't like her, but now she knows there's an actual reason to not like Izzy. Did Isobel care? Not at all. Izzy never fought Sam like Tory has, but that doesn't mean she won't if she's pushed to the point.

And if Sam continued watching Miguel run around with the girl she thought he didn't like, Sam was going to push her to that point.

     Izzy smiled, cocking her head up at the boy who now stood in front of her, looking down at Izzy. "Hi," Izzy said to the boy.

     Miguel forced a smile onto his face. "Hey." He said to the girl, then glanced over at Ethan who didn't bother leaving Izzy's side.

     Izzy nervously tapped her bag strap she was holding onto, "Let's get to class." Izzy told the boy, taking a step forward and looping her arm around Miguel's.

      The boy was taken aback by the sudden action, but nodded his head as Izzy was already dragging him away from her spot with Ethan and down the hallway. As they passed by Sam, Izzy smiled over at the girl. "Hi, Sam." Izzy hummed to her as they walked by.

     "Was that necessary?" Miguel asked as they got farther down the hall.

     Izzy dropped her arm from around his elbow, glaring up at the Diaz boy. "Yes, it was. You need to get over her, it's pathetic." Izzy admitted, smirking a little as she spoke, like she found it hilarious that he was still hung up on her.

"I–I am over her. You don't know anything." Miguel scoffed quietly as the two continued to walk past people who paused to stop and gossip about the new couple.

Izzy sucked at her teeth. "I know enough." She sighed, looking forward as the two walked. That was when Izzy connected her hand with his, Miguel glaring down, then over at Izzy.

     She felt his eyes in her and looked at him as well. "What?" She furrowed her eyebrows, "It's just hand-holding." Izzy quietly laughed.

     "I didn't say anything." Miguel muttered, looking in front of him.

     Izzy nodded, brushing the subject off of her shoulder as they approached Izzy's class. He stopped and turned to face the girl, his hand dropping from hers. "Well, here's your classroom." Miguel awkwardly spoke, unsure of how to say goodbye to his fake girlfriend.

     A smile appeared on Izzy's face as she looked up at him. "You're the best boyfriend in the world." Each word dripped with sarcasm and Miguel picked up on it, but he laughed at her words instead of rolling his eyes.

"Yeah, whatever. Uh.." Miguel dragged out the last word in a sigh, glancing into the classroom and back at Izzy.

     Izzy pressed her lips together as she looked back at him. This was more awkward than she thought. Instead of feeding into the awkwardness that was radiating off of Miguel, Izzy raised a hand to place against his chest and she tapped her hand against him.

He glared at her hand, then back at Izzy's face.

     "See you after class." She smiled at him, seeing Miguel just nod as her hand fell and Izzy walked into the classroom.

The class lasted an hour and the moment Izzy walked out of her classroom, Miguel was leaning against some lockers, waiting for her. Her eyebrows raised as she looked surprised, approaching Miguel who had his attention on his phone. He was texting someone, but Izzy ignored it, because did she really care? No.

"You waited." Izzy said it like she was shocked.

Her words made Miguel look up from his phone, shutting it off and stuffing it into his back pocket. "I mean, yeah. That's like.. the bare minimum of a boyfriend." Miguel shrugged, earning a laugh from Izzy who began walking, the boy turning and staying by her side.

"I expect a flower bouquet and chocolate next." Izzy told him playfully.

People willingly moved out of the couple's way, their heads turning as the two walked by. Miguel laughed at her words, but it was the kind of laugh where he thought her words were dramatic, and his head shook.

"What's so funny?" Izzy's eyebrows knitted together, moving her arm to wrap around Miguel's once again.

     "I'm serious. I'm the best fake girlfriend you'll ever have, so you need to be the best fake boyfriend." She explained to him, a playful tone to her words while managing to keep quiet so no other student could hear.

     That was when Miguel genuinely laughed. This girl was ridiculous, that was all he could think to himself. The two walked out of the school and into the warm California air.

     "The first step to being the best fake girlfriend is to admit I'm better at karate than you." Miguel retaliated, "I mean.. who was the champion again?" He said it like he was bragging, because he was.

     Izzy rolled her eyes at the boy. "So you want me to lie?" She glared up at him, a slight smirk on her lips, but Miguel had a look on his face like he was trying to hold back another laugh.

     "Miguel!" A high-pitched voice called out, the sound of it feeling like knives were just stuffed into Izzy's ears.

     Both Miguel and Izzy stopped and turned, seeing Sam walking up to them. Great, Izzy thought as she let out a sigh. Once Sam stood in front of them, she smiled at the Diaz boy and then it faded once she glanced over at Izzy who was already staring at her. Izzy had a look that said 'make this quick' loud and clear.

     "What's up?" Miguel asked the girl in front of him.

     Sam opened her mouth to speak, looking back at Miguel. Izzy watched as Sam forced the smile back onto her lips. "Do you want a ride to practice? I was just about to text you." Sam asked Miguel.

     Izzy didn't care all too much to pretend to be jealous, that and because her phone vibrating in her pocket caught her attention. As she took her phone out, the several messages being sent by Nina filled her lock screen.

Nina :)
dude, it's actually working! EVERYONE is talking about you and miguel

Nina :)
i overheard some kids at lunch talking about actually going to the tournament to see you two fight? WTF OMG

Nina :)
am i genius or am i genius?

     Izzy smiled at the texts from her best friend, but was snapped back into reality at the sound of Miguel's voice — "Right, Izzy?" He spoke as the girl finally looked up from her phone to see Sam still standing there, but she had a look of defeat on her face.

     She had no idea what they were talking about. "Right about what?"

     "Giving me a ride to Miyagi-Do practice?" Miguel responded.

     A light laugh came out of Izzy's mouth as she nodded, looking at Sam. "Oh, yeah. I can give him a ride. You don't have to worry about it." Izzy smiled at the other girl who didn't try and smile back.

     Before Sam could even say anything back, Izzy took hold of Miguel's hand and began pulling him towards the parking lot of the school. "I'll see you later." Miguel said to Sam then turned to face where he was walking.

     Neither of them said much of anything on the way to Izzy's car and once they got out of the school parking lot. They were halfway to Miyagi-Do by the time Miguel finally decided to speak up after nearly ten minutes of silence mixed in with the quiet music from the car radio.

     "Should I tell anyone that we're.. fake dating? Like.. my Sensei or something?" Miguel questioned cautiously, like the topic was hazardous.

     Izzy shifted in her seat, but shook her head. "No. It has to seem as real as possible. If someone finds out it's fake, there's a ninety percent chance that someone else is going to find out and the whole plan is ruined." Izzy explained thoroughly, like she had thought about this all night.

     "Okay. No problem. I just feel like he's going to be mad at me." Miguel muttered, looking out of his window while Izzy glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.

     Izzy's eyebrows furrowed together. "Your Sensei? Why would he be mad at you?" She sounded confused.

"Because you're Cobra Kai." Miguel admitted.

That was when she laughed just as she turned the car around a corner. "First of all, he can't be pissed about that, because even though you're in Eagle Fang, you're still a teenager who gets in relationships." Izzy explained to him, Miguel turning his to look at her as she spoke.

"I mean, you dated Sam." Izzy shrugged, glaring over at him for a quick moment to see him looking at her.

Miguel let out a sigh. "Yeah, but.. you're different. You're, like, my rival." He told her, laughing a little bit.

Izzy pulled into the area out of Miyagi-Do, putting the car in park. "He still can't be pissed about it. Besides, we both know it's fake. Just until the tournament and then we'll be out of each other's lives when I beat you and Cobra Kai wins." She said, facing him as he grabbed his bag from the space by his feet, a smile on her face.

The boy nodded like he believed her, "I didn't know you were so good at lying, Izzy. I think you're better at that than karate." Miguel smiled teasingly, going to open the passenger door to get out, and Izzy's face dropped.

     Izzy gestured at him to hurry up as he got out, but when he shut the door, he stopped and motioned for Izzy to roll down the window. She scoffed, doing as he asked and watched as he rested his arms on the open window once it was rolled all the way down. He leaned down so that he could look into the vehicle and at Izzy.

     "You forget to say goodbye?" She asked, the smile still on her features.

     Miguel felt a grin tug at the corner of his lips, "I guess I'll see you at school?" He questioned, letting out a quiet sigh afterward.

     Izzy gave him a reassuring nod. "See you tomorrow, boyfriend." She jokingly said, holding back a laugh when she saw his eyes roll at the name.

With their whole 'no one-on-one thing' that they agreed on, that also included texting, or calling, or anything personal. They didn't do it before, unless it was viewing their stories or liking their posts, and they agreed it went against what they agreed on. So they weren't going to do it now.

Izzy watched as Miguel disappeared into the Miyagi-Do dojo and that was when a deep breath came from her mouth, pulling the car away from the dojo and leaving.

     Now she won't hear the end of it when she steps foot into Cobra Kai.

For Miguel, he was immediately pulled to the side by Sam when he walked into the back part of the dojo. She pulled him towards a quieter side where there were fewer people and her arms crossed over her chest, looking up at Miguel.

"Can you tell me now why you're suddenly dating Isobel?" Sam shot quickly at him, her facial expression making it known she didn't like Miguel being around Cobra Kai like that.

     Miguel opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He then sighed, "I–I like her." Miguel stated, unsure of what more Sam wanted him to say.

     "Since when?" Sam's eyebrows furrowed.

     "Why does it matter? We aren't even dating anymore." Miguel gestured his hand from him towards Sam, he spoke like he was confused on why Sam was reacting this way.

     Sam's facial expression softened. "I know. It's just she's Cobra Kai and you're —"

     "Who's Cobra Kai?" A sudden voice came from behind Miguel. Of course, Johnny would be right there.

     Miguel turned to face him, "No one, Sensei —"

     "His new girlfriend." Sam butted in, eyeing Miguel before walking away from him and Johnny.

     Johnny watched Sam walk away before looking back at Miguel who look defeated. "You got another girlfriend? In Cobra Kai?" Johnny asked, the Diaz boy couldn't tell if he was upset or not.

     "It's.." He wanted to say complicated, he didn't want to lie to Johnny, but Miguel just sighed and nodded. "Yeah, her name is Isobel. Izzy." Miguel corrected himself, studying Johnny's face to see any reaction.

     "Isobel? She the one you always complain about?" Johnny squinted his eyes, trying to understand the situation.

     Miguel nodded. "Yeah. That's the one." He muttered awkwardly.

     Johnny was quiet, but that just worried Miguel more, so he did the first thing that came to his mind. "It's not gonna distract me from the tournament. In fact, we're going to fight at the tournament. The entire school is talking about going to see us." Miguel rambled on.

     He paused for a quick second, his words quieter this time. "We.. we really only see each other in school. So, um, try not to tell my mom?" Miguel asked, not wanting Johnny to tell his mom who would want to invite Izzy over for dinner.

     "I won't. I won't." Johnny held his hands up in defense, "And you're damn right it won't distract you from the tournament." He raised his pointer to Miguel who nodded as confirmation.

     Miguel then followed Johnny to begin training, Johnny asking the boy if the girl he was with was hot (Miguel just ignored the question), but the Diaz boy passed by Sam who didn't take her eyes off of him.

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     The second Izzy stepped through the doors of Cobra Kai, all eyes were on her. Word had gotten around that Isobel Vera was now dating Miguel Diaz, but all Izzy heard as she walked further into the dojo were whispers.

     Izzy dropped her bag down on the ground, letting out a deep huff as she turned to face all of the eyes on her. "Yes, I'm dating Miguel. Can you all stop staring at me now?" Izzy asked, watching as everyone's attention diverted to something else.

     Another breath came from Izzy as she turned to tighten the belt on her gi, but the feeling of a presence approaching her caused Izzy to whip around quickly.

     "Woah," Tory laughed, raising her hands in defense, "Easy, hotshot. I just came over to talk to you. From what I've been hearing, it seems like I'm missing out on some things." The girl spoke as Izzy smiled softly at her.

     Tory gestured for Izzy to follow her onto the mat. Both of them going over and sitting down to stretch. "So, you're dating Miguel?" Tory finally asked.

     Izzy sighed, she knew the short history between Tory and Miguel, but Izzy never thought how it would affect her and Tory's friendship. Although Izzy wasn't around at the time to know what really went down beyond the school karate fight not too long ago, Tory was one of her closest friends.

     Izzy tried to read Tory's body language or her emotion, but failed and Tory was quick to let out a laugh at Izzy's hesitation to the question.

     "I'm not mad, Izzy. It's okay." Tory reassured her friend.

     Izzy sighed as a relief, nodding her head as she leaned forward to stretch over her feet. "Yeah, I'm dating him now." She muttered.

Tory laughed. "How did that happen?"

The Vera girl breathed in, stretching forward to grab ahold of her feet, then breathed out. "Um.." Shit. She was blanking. "I just went up and asked him out." Izzy quietly explained.

"Mm," Tory hummed, stretching herself. "You've always been brave." She told the other girl.

     The compliment made Izzy smile to herself as she sat back up, "So have you." Izzy said back to her.

     Tory only had time to grin as a response before Sensei Kreese came walking into the dojo from the back. Izzy looked at his face and he was staring at her like she had done something wrong, but Izzy could just be making that up in her head.

     He announced they were going to start with one-on-one fighting, everyone having to stand in a circle while two students were called to the center. Izzy stood next to Robby, waiting impatiently as Kreese seemed to be calling everyone but her. It felt like he was doing it as some sort of punishment.

     Maybe he did know about her being with Miguel or maybe he somehow found out it was fake and that just makes it worse.

     Izzy must've been zoned out thinking about what Kreese does, or doesn't, know that she didn't realize he had been calling her name. Robby gently pushed her on the shoulder to snap Izzy back to reality, the girl glancing over at Robby like he had the audacity to even touch her.

     "What?" She asked the boy beside her.

     "Is there something bothering you, Isobel?" Sensei Kreese spoke, his voice slow and intimidating that it made Izzy feel like a lump had formed in her throat.

     Izzy swallowed that lump and shook her head. "No, Sensei." She reassured him.

     "Good, then get on the mat."

     Izzy let out a breath, looking over at Tory who nodded her head, telling Izzy that she was going to do good. Izzy nodded back as a way to tell her she understood what Tory was trying to say.

      The Vera girl saw Kyler standing there, waiting patiently for the girl to take her place on the mat. Kyler let out a cocky laugh, "Don't try to go easy on me, Iz. I like it rough." The last part made him and the other immature boys in the room laugh.

     Izzy let out a scoffed. "And you wonder why you don't have a girlfriend." She shook her head at the boy also on the mat.

     Both Izzy and Kyler got in their positions, lining up and both of their arms raised with their fists curled. Izzy knew Kyler was going to try and strike first the moment the loud 'Ais!' left Kreese's mouth.

     A smirk fell upon Izzy's lip at how predictable the boy was and while Kyler rose his right leg to kick her on the side, Izzy quickly swept down and kicked her leg out, watching as Kyler lost his balance and fell to the mat. That was when Izzy balled her hand up into a fist and collided it with Kyler's abdomen.

     Clapping emerged from the quiet air of the dojo, Izzy falling back as Kyler sat up. "That shit isn't fair." He scoffed.

     Izzy smiled as she stood to her feet. "This is, what, you're tenth time losing to me?" She fired at him, reaching her hand out for him to take.

     Kyler made a 'tch' sound as he pushed her hand away, going to stand up himself. Just as he stood up, the jingle sound of the door opening caught everyone's attention. Izzy turned to see the eighth grader from last time come in, Kenny was his name.

     Kenny stood there, staring at Kreese. "I want another shot." The young boy said confidently.

     Kreese looked like he found it amusing that the boy showed up. "I'm sorry, we don't accept weaklings here." The older man told Kenny.

"Give him another chance, Sensei." Robby spoke up, "Maybe he'll surprise you."

Izzy's eyebrows knitted together just as Kreese called Kenny onto the mat. "Mr. Park, you can handle this one." Kreese told the boy Izzy had just fought.

Izzy walked towards her spot next to Robby, glaring up at him. "Did you do what I think you did?" Izzy questioned him in a whisper tone.

Robby looked down at her, shrugging his shoulders. "I didn't do anything." He responded to her.

"Ais!" Kreese's voice boomed through the dojo.

Izzy watched as Kenny backed away off of the mat, Kyler not hesitating to taunt the boy. "Look at him running to mommy, bye you little bitch!" Kyler's words caused the dojo to erupt in laughter, the sound annoying Izzy.

If there was one thing Izzy hated about this dojo was the immature boys within it.

She was taken aback when Kenny rose his arm and his fist collided with Kyler's face and Izzy was the only one to let out a laugh while the room stayed quiet out of surprise, earning her a look of disapproval from others.

"What the hell?" Kyler rose his voice, "He hit me when I wasn't looking. That's some bullshit." He told Sensei Kreese.

     "You're right. He didn't line up." Kreese agreed, "So that won't count as a point."

Kenny stuttered out his words, "I–I'm sorry. I didn't know the rules." He apologized to the older man.

     Izzy felt like she had watched the kid's heart get ripped right out of his chest by the way he began to walk off to leave the dojo. Izzy also didn't expect to hear Sensei Kreese call out for him, to tell him to take his spot in the dojo.

     Although she was happy for the boy, Izzy felt her heart sting a little bit. She used to think Cobra Kai was a second home, that this was her family, but with the tunnel vision she has for winning the tournament — all she can see around her is competition.

     All while being in a fake relationship with her actual competition.

    And if she didn't think it could get any worse, the news she got on her phone once she got home made Izzy want to rip her hair out and scream.

Miguel
Sooo Johnny told my mom I had a girlfriend after I told
him not to and now she wants you to come over for dinner... what do we do?

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authors note.
this ending was rushed because the chapter was getting too long for my liking so don't hate me 🙏🏼

i hope you guys are enjoying this fic so far!! thank you to everyone who reads it, it makes me happy knowing people actually want to read it AHSHSH

i'm very excited for you guys to see what i have planned for izzy's character and izzy and miguel <3